| 1993 NCAA Division I-A season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Number of teams | 106[1] |
| Preseason AP No. 1 | Florida State[2] |
| Postseason | |
| Bowl games | 19 |
| Heisman Trophy | Charlie Ward (quarterback, Florida State) |
| Bowl Coalition Championship | |
| 1994 Orange Bowl | |
| Site | Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida |
| Champion(s) | Florida State (AP, Coaches, FWAA) |
| Division I-A football seasons | |
← 1992 1994 → | |
The 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season saw Florida State crowned national champions, in both the AP and Coaches poll.
Under the Bowl Coalition, undefeated Big 8 champ and No. 2 ranked Nebraska hosted ACC champ and No. 1 ranked Florida State in the Orange Bowl. This produced a clear champion in the Coaches Poll and the AP poll, despite Florida State's loss to Notre Dame 31–24 during the regular season, in a game known by many as the "Game of the Century". This much hyped clash between No. 1 and No. 2 was the site of the first ever "live" broadcast of the ESPN College GameDay show and did not fail to live up to expectations as Irish defensive back Shawn Wooden batted down a Charlie Ward pass in the end zone with three seconds left to play. Despite the win over Florida State, Notre Dame's title chances ended the very next week when the Fighting Irish lost to No. 17 Boston College. Further controversy surrounded the inclusion of one-loss Florida State in the national title game over undefeated West Virginia, who was ranked No. 2 (ahead of Florida State) by the final regular season coaches' poll but not the AP (Nebraska was No. 2 in the AP).
Despite beating Florida State in the regular season, Notre Dame finished No. 2 in the two major polls. Florida State, during the 1993 regular season played No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Nebraska, No. 15 Miami, No. 5 Florida, No. 19 North Carolina, and No. 23 Clemson. FSU went 3–1 vs top 7 teams while playing only 1 home game in the 4 contests.
Florida State's Charlie Ward threw for 3,032 yards, completed 70 percent of his passes and became the first player to win the Heisman Trophy and the national championship in the same season since Pittsburgh's Tony Dorsett in 1976.
- ^ "1993 NCAA Division IA Football Power Ratings". www.jhowell.net.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on October 2, 2011. Retrieved January 3, 2009.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)